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The Roots of Evil 1st Edition

by John Kekes (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 2 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0801473814
ISBN-10: 0801473810
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 278 pages
  • Publisher: Cornell University Press; 1 edition (March 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0801473810
  • ISBN-13: 978-0801473814
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.2 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 starsInteresting discussion
By S. B. Volchan on June 30, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book provides a cogent analysis of evil and along the way presents many interesting topics linked to moral values, responsibility and ethics. One important point is the recognition that evil is not mysterious but is part of the ambivalence, contradictions and propensities of human nature. Hence, contrary to the Enlightenment naive optimism, it is implausible (in view of human history) that evil will ever be completely
eradicated from human society. What one can expect is to minimize it and protect society from its terrible effects.

To do that one needs to understand the mechanism (internal and external) and causes that lead to evil actions. First step is to recognize there are different types of evil and the author tries to extract some pattern from unequivocal instances of evil, namely the Albigensian crusaders, Robespierre's reign of terror, Stangl's command of Treblinka, Argentinian "dirty-war" torturers, Charles Manson murders and a psychopath's career.

Overall it provides a rational, secular and objective discussion. The weak point is the proposed solutions to deal with evil. One proposal is to help people develop a "moral imagination", sources of which could be found in reading the classics. This sounds like the usual naive Enlightenment optimism once again. After all classical education didn't prevent the horrible instances of evil in the recent past; moreover, how on earth one is supposed to instill an interest in the classics nowadays, in our age of fast and superficial information, in which new media formats compete, through direct emotional appeals, to an increasingly impatient audience? Maybe the author will try to tackle these issues in his other books.
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5.0 out of 5 starsTo Be or Not To Be Evil!
By Phyllis Antebi Ph.D on June 20, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
In art as in literature, the interpretation of the human is best left to the masters and Kekes is one of the masters in his interpretation of the human in life. Evil, in particular, is a very difficult subject to clarify as by its very nature it is mostly masked and insidious in its consequences. But, evil does exist, and we ought to know why and how it is manifested. Evil is an art form all its own. From evil creeping into our politics, to its manifestations in business, let alone on the streets and into our homes. In addition, beware of the evil inclinations of the seven deadly sins. "The Roots of Evil" is a fine introduction to the subject because it instructs us in what it means to be good, as well. Kekes writes, ""For insofar as ordinary morality deviates from the higher, it deviates from the good, and that must be an error ..." While individual deviations may be willful or ignorant, "Morality at the very least must protect the minimum conditions of human well being". So if you care about morality you must care about ordinary decency and those, who with malice, who tend to defy it.
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